The new law that bans cell phone use in classrooms will go into effect in September.
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas school districts are implementing changes to their campuses thanks to a new state law.
By Sept. 18, school leaders must have a written policy that bans the use of cell phones in classrooms. On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott hosted a ceremonial signing of the bill in Amarillo.
The goal of the law is to eliminate distraction and enhance the learning environment in classrooms.
Lake Travis ISD is getting parents and kids ready for what they should expect. However, the district already implemented a smart device ban on grades K-8 last year.
“Our students that will become incoming ninth graders, they’re going to be used to that concept already,” said Lake Travis High School Principal James Bush.
Bush will be coming in as the high school’s newest principal. He said feedback from community members on that implementation came back positive, and believes there will be the same positive impact with the high schoolers.
Parents received a letter of the rules, but Bush added signs will be displayed around campus and teachers will direct kids to turn off their phones and put them away at the start of the day.
This will also apply to any personal electronic device such as Apple watches, laptops and gaming systems.
Bush said as far as punishment goes, the first time a student is caught with their phone out, it will be taken away; the second time, a parent or guardian will have to come to campus to pick it up; the third offense will lead to consequences that correspond with campus rules.
Chantal Sokorac is the parent of an incoming ninth grader heading to Lake Travis High, along with a senior who is already attending the school.
Sokorac admitted while there are pros, they don’t outweigh the cons.
“I think it’s going to be really difficult to go from having the immediacy of phones to now stepping back and saying, ‘Well now everything has to be on an email,'” said Sokorac.
Sokorac pointed to last minute scheduling and carpooling.
“This is a really tricky couple of years that we’re going into,” said Sokorac.
Bush noted that in emergency situations, teachers and staff will have tools to inform parents. For example, staff will have a new badge system, which will allow them to directly communicate with law enforcement.
And if students need to connect with their parents, school-issued Chromebooks can also be used for emails.
“We’re going to train our students on the very first day when they come into this campus,” said Bush.
Lake Travis High starts school on Aug. 13.
What other school districts are doing
Lockhart ISD superintendent Mark Estrada sat down with KVUE to go over the district’s plans on how they’ll tackle the new law.
Estrada said Lockhart High School has a similar policy already in place in which students are only allowed to use their phones during lunch hour, so that will now be removed to comply with the law. However, at Lockhart Pride High School, students are required to check in their cell phones.
The reason for that is because Pride High School has a smaller student population.
At Lockhart High, kids will be required to turn off their phones and put them away the rest of the day. In an emergency situation, Estrada did note that students will be able to use their phones to communicate with their parents.
“We’re not going to keep kids from communicating with their parents if it’s safe to do so,” said Estrada. “If it doesn’t create a situation that’s even more unsafe to allow kids to use their phone, then [teachers will use] their logic and reasoning to allow kids to message their parents, let them know they’re okay, let them know something.”
As for enforcement, Estrada said the first offense for a student having their phone out will be parents having to come pick up their phones, then the second and third offenses will lead to Saturday detention and other consequences.
